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Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar has said he was in favour of assigning roles to women in the
Army’s counter-terrorism operations.

He said “in
principle” he was in favour of women in combat positions, but a final decision
would be taken later. “I don’t see why not. We take them as equal in
everything,” Parrikar said in reply to a question.

The ministry could
assign them “role in counter-terrorism operations (at the borders) or even to
tackle terrorists within the country,” he said. He was speaking at a
fund-raising function in Bambolim on the outskirts of Panaji yesterday evening.

Earlier this week,
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha had said the Indian Air Force had moved a proposal
to induct women as fighter aircraft pilots.

“It has to be done in a
phase-wise manner. It won’t happen immediately,” Parrikar said, adding that the
final notification on inducting women as fighter aircraft pilots would also
take sometime. He cited that the UAE Air Force has women fighter plane pilots
who had carried out strikes on ISIS targets. — PTI

India is all set to
buy 194 microlight aircraft from Pipistrel, a Slovenian light aircraft
manufacturer, for flying-training, surveillance and aerial photography.

Though the company
did not specify the deal, it is said to be worth Rs130 crore (US $20 million).

Pipistrel has
emerged as tender-winner to supply aircraft to the Indian Air Force, Navy and
the National Cadet Corps, a statement of the company said tonight.

Microlight aircraft
‘Virus SW 80 GARUD’ has been selected among eleven international original
equipment manufacturers and authorised vendors.

Pipistrel’s CEO Ivo
Boscarol said: “With more than a quarter-of-century experience in the field,
Pipistrel makes an ideal partner for IAF, Navy and NCC. The plane has been
carefully configured with advanced design, state-of-the-art composite
construction and modern digital avionics.”

The aircraft is
powered by an 80 HP aviation certified engine and can reach a maximum speed of
more than 220 kmph, fly for three hours and climb to altitudes in excess of
6,000 metres. The aircraft will be used exclusively for training of Flight
Safety and Air Wing Cadets.

The plane is also
equipped with a special ballistic parachute rescue system, which saves the
entire aircraft and both pilots in case of accident. A Pipistrel statement said
in 2010 the firm claimed the title of Europe’s most innovative company by EBA
and won three consecutive NASA aviation Challenges.

New Delhi:Pirates of the Arabian Sea versus 52 warships
of the Indian Navy -- it took only four years to clean up the waters. But the
"high risk" tag of the entire area between Africa and Indian waters
took considerably longer to shed - three more years. The clean chit came last
week.

The tag was proving
no less expensive than piracy. Merchant ships had to sail hugging the Indian
coast - spending much more on fuel and insurance -- for safety. Chinese vessels
came too close for comfort. And it cast doubt on the capabilities of the Indian
Navy to ensure the safety of its waters.

Starting from the
Gulf of Aden, piracy became rampant in Arabian sea around 2007 with the
political instability Somalia.

But as they
increased their reach to the East Arabian Sea, the entire West coast including
the Exclusive Economic Zone of India, an area of the sea which can only be used
by India for economic reasons, was declared a high risk area.

The navy started its
anti-piracy operation in 2008 - deploying warships from across the Gulf of
Aden, Maldives and Seychelles Islands all the way to the west coast of India.
Floating armouries appeared off the Indian coast and security personnel were
stationed on board trade ships.

The waters between
Africa and India, up to 78 degrees East longitude, were tagged a High Risk
Area. Now the High Risk Area has been pushed west, to 65 degrees East
longitude.

"But although
the last piracy attempt was in 2012, the global community had refused to
realign the High Risk Area tag," said a senior Defence Ministry official.
"Plus, including the entire west coast within the High Risk Area also cast
a doubt on the capabilities of the Indian Navy."

It also resulted in
episodes like the shooting of two Indian fishermen by Italian marines. The
marines, who were stationed on an oil tanker as part of its security, had
opened fire on the fishing boat by mistake.

After 2012, India
sought for a review of the spread of the High Risk Area with the the European
Union Chair of the Contact Group of Piracy off the Coast of Somalia. The
clearance came last week -- after three years' of lobbying and meetings, said
defence ministry officials.

"Now, some of
India's maritime security concerns - like floating armouries and proliferation
of private security -- are likely to be addressed," said Indian Navy
spokesperson Captain D K Sharma. "Also, Indian ship-owners are likely to
benefit significantly on account of savings on insurance and associated
operating costs."

India’s defence
minister Manohar Parrikar has said that Kashmiris should be made aware of the
brutal atrocities committed by the Pakistan army on civilians in
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Parrikar accused the
country’s western neighbour of continuing to push terrorists into India and
said its role as a breeder of terror should be exposed before a global
audience. Parrikar, who was speaking during a public interaction meet near
Panaji late on Sunday evening, also hinted that the National Democratic
Alliance government had Pakistan worried.

“We need to bring it to their
(Kashmiris) notice. How brutally the Pakistan army is treating the population
in PoK? I don’t know after that if they will ever think of Pakistan because
they are proud people. They have to be told that their brothers, and sisters,
who are also a part of India, are being brutally treated,” he said.

The defence minister said that
India had to adopt a multi-pronged strategy with regard to Pakistan, one that
included brute force vis-a-vis dealing with terror as well as political tact.

“You find kids being murdered,
butchered in Peshawar. You find people going to mosques for prayers being
killed. Killing is almost everywhere in Pakistan. I think these are poisonous
fruits, seeds of which were sown by them. They should realise that the hate
India campaign will not provide any solution,” he said.

Parrikar also said that Pakistan
continues to send terrorists into India using cross-border firing as a decoy.

“Most of the times, the
ceasefire violation is to ensure that some terrorists are pushed into Indian
side. This is a cover up...” he said.

Asked whether the troika of
Narendra Modi as Prime minister, him as Defence Minister and Ajit Doval as
National Security Advisor could have had Pakistan worried, the former Goa chief
minister said, “I think some aspects should be understood by symptoms. The
worry can be seen on their faces and when they talk. I don’t have to explain
anything beyond that.”

At the top of the
nine-point agenda is the planning and execution of infrastructure works in the
12th Plan, which has been raised by Kolkata-headquartered Eastern Command.

The bi-annual Army
Commanders’ Conference starts on Monday in New Delhi, and it will deliberate
upon infrastructure works on the China border in Eastern Command, state of
border roads, and consolidation of defence land. The highest-level military
conference, which will go on till Friday, will also discuss the shortage of
officers.

At the top of the
nine-point agenda is the planning and execution of infrastructure works in the
12th Plan, which has been raised by Kolkata-headquartered Eastern Command.

Sources in the
Eastern Command said that almost all the planned works required for new forces
raised for China border — including roads, accommodation, ammunition sheds,
railway lines, bridges and airfields — have been delayed. Besides problems with
land acquisition, a major reason for the delay has been the ongoing dispute
about use of local labour for construction.

The seven Army
Commanders will also discuss the performance of the Border Roads Organisation
or DGBR. The DGBR moved under the control of Defence Ministry from the roads
ministry earlier this year. In May, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Defence had criticised the DGBR for the poor state of strategic Indo-China
border roads.

The Works of Defence
Act 1903, which imposes certain restrictions upon the use of land in the
vicinity of defence constructions, is also scheduled to be reviewed during the
conference. The Act and its guidelines had come to prominence in the wake of
south Mumbai-based Adarsh housing society controversy, where a high-rise
building had been given permission for construction in the vicinity of Army
establishments.

The conference will
also discuss the plans for consolidation of defence land, finalise land norms
and approve plans for reconciliation of pre-independence era land records.

A 2013 CAG report
had found that 14,539.38 acres of defence land was under encroachment as of
July 2009. The CAG report had also pointed out that as of March 2010, 2500
acres of land — valued at Rs 11,033 crore — was on lease for an annual rent of
only Rs 2.13 crore.

The ongoing shortage
of officers in the army is another subject of deliberation before the senior
commanders. Even though the army has been able to bring its officer shortage
down from 26 per cent in 2010 to 18 per cent now, it is still struggling to
subscribe to all the vacancies in training academies. Four hundred and thirty
five of the 2,642 vacancies were unused in the current calendar year.

The army is
authorised 49,737 officers and was holding 40,525 officers as on 1st July this
year. It hopes to reduce this shortage from 18 per cent to 12 per cent by 2021.

It plans to
commission an additional 1000 officers, which will cater to 500 new accretions
and make up existing shortages at the rate of 1 per cent every year.

Meanwhile, the
defence ministry is already working on a tri-service roadmap on reducing
officer shortages in the armed forces. Even within the army, a detailed study
on the intake of officers is being undertaken by DG (Recruiting). The army is
also working on long-term plans to make all 10+2 entries (NDA and TES) for
permanent commission while other graduate entries (UES and DE) will be for
granting short-service commission. But these plans will only be put in place if
short-service commission, at 10 years and extendable by another four years,
becomes an attractive proposition.

The army commanders’
conference will also discuss issues pertaining to married accommodation in
high-pressure stations and construction of pre-engineered building by the
Military Engineering Service. A study of the revised recruitment system, a
review of educational scholarships and concessions and integrated development
of sports in the army is also on the agenda of the conference.